Hardwells Main Stage Eruption

Hardwells turn on the Main Stage was met with some of the most manic, wildly ecstatic energy weve ever seen at a festival. Check that crowd-wide jump at around 4:30. Banners, flags and even balloons spelling out Hardwells name popped up throughout the dense audience, which temporarily forgot its manners and practically slam-danced with abandon. Around the three-minute mark, you can even see Hardwell turn to a photographer (or tour manager) with him in the booth and throw up a thrilled thumbs-up.

2

Carnages Wheelchair Surf

Carnage was rocking the sweat-packed Dim Mak stage for a front row of Americans repping their big man when a drop of Ellie Gouldings Lights vocal became a singalong with meaning. Check around 4:30, when a young man in a wheelchair gets hoisted by his buddies to enjoy the moment from up high. You can practically taste his joy. The peace is short-lived, however, when the drop of Dimitri Vegas & Like Mikes Wakanda hits a moment later and the tent goes into full jump-up.

3

Chuckie Sits Down for Bingo Players

Chuckies late afternoon set finished on an emotional note, when the Dutch DJ dropped a medley of Bingo Players hits  Cry (Just A Little), LAmour, Devotion, Rattle  in honor of group member Paul Baümer, who recently announced a cancer diagnosis. I have, like, two minutes left, Chuckie tells the crowd around minute five, but can we just do a sit-down for the Bingo Players? Show them some love and respect.

The sit-until-the-drop-hits command is a common Main Stage move, but this time it felt like more than a mere party trick. Paul, this one goes out to you, Chuckie shouted, throwing his hands in the air as fans jumped from the ground in unison. It was a perfect tribute to Baümer and the Bingo Players, whose music has been long been fodder for major Main Stage moments.

4

Nicky Romeros Tent Takeover

Recap videos dont often capture that festival moment when one DJ cedes the decks to another. The crowd response in that instant is one of the most telling indicators of a jocks popularity. Nicky Romero had the Garden of Madness crowd rapt from his very first hello, dropping his Krewella collaboration Legacy. The fans went absolutely wild, packing the tent to the point where all access paths to it were temporarily closed. Next time, the Main Stage.

5

Armin van Buurens Tear-Jerker

Trance god Armin van Buuren is a pro at creating big moments on even bigger festival stages. But at Tomorrowland, it wasnt his music that got the crowd worked up. I just want to make a very special announcement, he told fans before beginning his set. I just came straight from the hospital. My wife just gave birth to a son. So I want to dedicate my whole set to my new son. As the classical strings of his track Intense came through the speakers, van Buuren assumed his usual pose  arms outstretched, head tilted skyward  but the DJs eyes also filled with tears in a moment that had the whole crowd rejoicing with him.

6

Off-Key Singalong with Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike

Belgian brothers Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike are the resident DJs of Tomorrowland, a job that has taken them from hometown heroes to international EDM stars. A spate of huge releases (Wakanda, Turn It Up, Mammoth and TomorrowWorld festival anthem Chattahoochee) hasnt hurt either. The enormity of their recent rise seemed to hit them when they closed the Main Stage Friday night.

Tiesto is, quite literally, a tough act to follow, but the energy level only rose when Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike took the stage; with Vegas primarily on DJ duty and Like Mike hyping up the crowd with chants, champagne spraying and shirt-waving, the set was an all-out party for the artists and crowd alike. During a happily off-key audience-wide singalong to One Republics If I Lose Myself (shortly after the four-minute mark), the brothers share a look of complete disbelief at whats taking place before them.